The Valley of Lies (Lightkeepers #1)

Chapter TWENTY-TWO: Liss

Liss rolled over, her legs tangling in hot, heavy layers. The world was red behind her eyelids, and the blankets felt sticky on her skin. Not blankets, she realized, spreading her legs apart. She was wearing pants, and they were damp.

Sunlight accosted her when she opened her eyes, stronger than she was used to. She fended off its assault with an arm raised in front of her face, squinting at unfamiliar surroundings. The room she was in was small and quaint, but the furniture was well made from a pretty, auburn-toned wood she didn't recognize. A wide window faced the bed she lay in, revealing rooftops of another building and many trees beyond. Where was she? How had she gotten here?

Liss remembered Dev showing her the glowing flower through the hidden passage in the mountain, and the magic she'd harnessed with a rune. Dev had refused to come with her through the rift, and now, after confirming that she was indeed alone, wherever she was, she felt the weight of her choice to leave him behind. There was no field of purple flowers here, no bright passage to lead her back to him. It was daytime, which meant she'd been missing for hours already, if not longer. Dev was probably worried sick.

This was what you wanted, her shame reminded her. "I made it though, didn't I?" she argued with herself. There was a world beyond the valley---a thriving one, if the place she'd found herself in was any indication.

Liss inspected herself, searching for clues about how she'd ended up sleeping in this strange bedroom. A nice and private one at that, with one bed instead of dozens. There was even a wooden cup filled with water on a small table near her head, as though someone had placed it there just for her. When she reached for it, she saw a bandage wrapped around her hand. It was only then that she felt the Revealer rune's memento, a stinging, aching pain. She flexed her fingers, studying the beige fabric concealing her wound. Someone dexterous and knowledgeable had attended to her. The bandage was tight but not constricting, and they had nimbly set the knot below her thumb, leaving only a small tail sticking out.

Where was the person who had done all this for her? Would they return or had they brought her here, to safety, and left? Liss couldn't say why, exactly, but she hoped they would return. It would be helpful to have someone's guidance in a strange new world. Besides, they had cleaned and wrapped her wound. Clearly, they had no ambitions to harm her. Maybe they could even tell her about magic and show her new runes.

She took a careful sip of water, then climbed off the bed, stumbling with unexpected stiffness. Her head and back ached as though she'd been jostled around and bruised. Whatever had caused her such fatigue, she didn't recall. Perhaps it was always so taxing to use magic. That would be a disappointment.

Liss shuffled over to the window and stared out at the busy scene below. She was in a village, but it differed greatly from the one she'd grown up in. Although her room was charming, the exterior of every building within sight was plain and dingy. It was nothing like Cradelow, where every structure was painstakingly maintained to prevent the valley's storms from diminishing the clan's traditional, elegant aesthetic. The streets were a slurry of mud and stones, with deep tracks from the many carts wheeling through town. People bustled about, most of them short and stocky with small, rounded ears. Humans! She had always wanted to see one in person, and now she'd seen dozens without even stepping outside.

What if the person who'd bandaged her hand was human? Liss smiled, wondering what they must have thought of her long ears and slender body. Hopefully, they would not have a prejudice against her. The Darkbane had been banished for over three-hundred years. She doubted these humans would guess her origins. She wished she knew what clan she should present herself as to avoid undue speculation, but there was nothing to do for it. If it came down to it, she would just have to improvise.